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A Blog for those who have fun with science fiction, popular culture etc. I'll be following, movies and TV. Especially fond of 12 Monkeys, The X-Files, Orphan Black, Fringe, Dr. Who, James Bond, and the like.

The End of Quantum Entanglement?

With the closing of the bridge room and shutting down the machine have we seen the end of Quantum Entanglement?

Of course the larger and more emotional question is, "Have we seen the end of the Red Universe"? I think the answer to that is yes. From a monetary point of view the less Fringe spends on special effects the better it is for the show. This last episode has already been described as a "bottle episode" by media wags and with the next season being shortened to 13 episodes pinching pennies will help the show concentrate on story lines and not whiz bang cool stuff.

I'll be sad to see the red side go. Their earlier iteration was nasty to the core but once things changed in this season I think we all grew to know and love them. With season 5 set for this Fall (I'm assuming) we'll probably get a healthy dose of the future of Fringe as outlined in the episode,"Letters of Transit". So no more "pattern events" (did you here Peter mention patterns near the end of the episode?) black holes in the Thames or oxygen shortages in Mid-town Manhaten.

Worse yet, without the machine operating we won't know if the Red universe will get over it's Walter inflicted wounds or if Altlivia will ever get to see her rainbows. There are other ways of reaching the other side. Olivia has the capability of doing so and where the heck did Nick Lane disappear to when he vanished after escaping the Fringe team. Did he will himself to the other side?

If I may take a quick aside into the Nick Lane story, what was his purpose? I have this theory based on a series of clues that the Blue universe should expect a Trojan Horse. A way of getting into their camp and creating havoc. Nick Lane seemed to be that "horse". He got in, he lied to them and then he vanished. What did he accomplish aside from getting Agent Tim to stab himself? Shouldn't he have used his empathetic power of suggestion to co-opt Olivia? She is the big prize right?

Did Jones want the machine shut off? Was that his game? The Blue side surmised (thanks to Walters dream) that David Robert Jones needed the Cortexi-kids on both sides to contact each other in orfder to facilitate his larger scheme of collapsing the two universes. Is Walter wrong? Did they just play into Jones' hands? We really haven't seen any indication of such so for now it is all speculation.

I've recently referred to Olivia as the "Queen" in this grand game of chess and if Jones captures the Queen his end game for a Brave New World will be his for the taking. He certainly has sacrificed enough of his pieces to get here.

I'll hazard a guess this is where Bell fits in. No doubt Bellie is well versed in the game of Chess also. Instead of allowing the Queen to be captured he will sacrifice her instead and thwart the machinations of Jones. I'm thinking this is what Walter alluded to when he spoke of what Bell did to Olivia in "Letters of Transit" and that is why Walter left Bell in the amber and took his hand instead. Walter may have not known the truth behind Bell sacrificing Olivia for the greater good.

Did I tell you my out of this universe(s) theory? Walter clones Bell in the future, we get a younger version of Bell to help out (and spare Nimoy of having to come back all the time) the new younger Bell helps to defeat the Observers annnnnd he figures out where the original Bell hid Olivia's consciousness through soul magnets and re-inserts this mind into the body of a shape-shifter 3.0 (or better 4.0). No one tells Peter of course because he and Olivia still love each other. It's either that or they find Olivia encased in amber or in a deep freeze where Walter will have to re-animate her corpse like he did that dove in the beginning of this season.

Do you think Fringe would dare to be that creepy. They've gone there before just not with a major player.

I'm running a little long here so I'll wrap by saying we still seem to be on track for my theory about Jones being the anti-hero and creating a "Brave New World". He's got his Ark, his "animals" and a safe zone to keep them in as exemplified by the constant geodesic dome references. You can read that theory here

Sorry to see you go Red universe (and Lincoln Lee) we'll always have Paris. Perhaps we'll all meet again in some other gin joint in another universe and believe me I'm working on a theory for that too.

Comments

I may have caught the episode late, but I'm still posting in a speedy fashion!

I am with you on the topic of the Red Verse. I think this past episode was quite the fitting, and emotionally satisfying send off. I thought the Walter / Walternate scene was brilliant and I'd be lying if I said a didn't get teary eyed seeing both Olivias connecting. So, long story short, I do think that was their ending :(

I have always been a staunch supporter of your DRJ theory. It's been my number one theory since his return as well and I'm still stubbornly sticking to it. I like your take on the finale's title "braved new world" being tied into him as well. If anything, even though the Observers have been revealed as the big bad, I like the idea of Bell being an antagonist as well. As wary as we've all been of Nina since day one, I feel like William has gotten a bit of a reprieve. Sure Walter "told" Bell to take those pieces of his brain out, but the path that unfolded after with Walter being committed and William creating Massive Dynamic with many of Walter's experiments is do shady, and that is just the start. I like thinking of him as nefarious.

That being said, man I'm happy Fringe got a season five! Here's to the future both figuratively and literally!

Hey Sarah! I thought it was a nice send off too. I got misty when Kick/Astrid gave that little wave to Astrid. So sweet. Doc Jensen didn't like the the goodbye between the tow Olivia's. He thought it was the weakest part. I guess he doesn't know about the whole Oz and the rainbow thing.

I sticking to my theory also. So far so good. Even a little deviation doesn't upset the overall frame work. I'm glad the people at Fringe renamed the last two episodes "Brave New World" I'm sure they got it from me. Pah! I'm not sold as Bellie being an antagonist yet. Maybe a self styled realist like Jones imagines his self to be. (The line between realist and delusional is probably pretty thin in this case.)

My first take on Bell when I used to write into the Fringe podcast was that Bell was a war profiteer. I think that got re-shaped when Nimoy came aboard to play Bell. Yo can't have Spock being a bad guy! I bet part of his agreement to take the role was to make him good instead of evil. If this turns out to be the Red universe Bellie then all bets are off.

You make a good point about Spock. The man who coined "live long and prosper" being evil is a hard sell... However, it would be "the unexpected" and that's what Fringe does best. You're probably right though. If we're being logical (and that's what doctor Spock would have wanted) Bell if probably good and Walter it's probably misinformed about what happened to Olivia.

I think you are right unfortunately about the redverse. I thought of a theological parallel Friday night that could be a sign of its doom. The Fringe team referred to DRJ's "animals" as Noah's Ark and FauxLivia said there are no rainbows. Well, a rainbow was pointed out by God as a covenant with Noah that they would not be destroyed again. (of course this was specifically by water. ) But extrapolating more generally, to the redverse, that lack of rainbows could be symbolism that it will deteriorate again. I hope not, maybe it's just that we won't be seeing them even if Olivia can cross over. I wish we had seen more of them this season, but it would have been difficult with the need to spend time with Peter reintegrating into the rewritten timeline.

I was trying to remember, wasn't Olivia immune to Nick Lane's reverse empath ability? Maybe he couldn't work on her.

I do think DRJ wanted the machine turned off all along, though I have no idea how this helps him. And I tend to agree with you on him being the antihero. I wonder what exactly he needs from Olivia? I think she is going to die somehow.

As to your last paragraph, wow! If some of that comes to pass, I really will be blown away by this show. Scary thing is, I could see it, ;)

I like your info about the rainbow and Noah's ark. If we don't get to see the Redverse again I think Fringe will drop a subtle clue that everything turned out ok for them. something like hearing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" in the background of a scene or Olivia finishing a conversation about the other side and then seeing a rainbow outside her window.

I'm not sure about Nick and Olivia either, my memories of "Bad Dreams" etc are a little hazy. Even if he couldn't influence Olivia he could have gone after Walter or Broyles or even Peter. He was on the inside!

So you like the idea about Jones wanting the machine shut off. I wonder why also. I haven't figured out how this will pull Olivia into his web if at all. Maybe he just needs her eliminated. Eh, I'm not convinced of that either. I think we all agree that Olivia will "die" somehow but I bet there is a catch.

If they adopt that idea of substituting a cloned or shape-shifter version of Olivia for the "dead" one I'm going to submit my resume to them. Barring that I'd still sweep up the studio if they asked me! I'm a big fan of creepy so I'd love to see it.

Dave, that would be a nice way to show us the redverse is all right, I like that thought. The more I think about it, the less I think the writers will shock us with their destruction. Although, I guess we did see that in the potential 2026 future.

Sadly I do think that may be the last we see of the Red Universe. Darn it powers that be you made us care about them! I think we still may get word of them through the typewriter, the window or even Olivia. I actually thought the rainbow thing was a little heavy handed and not really the type of thing Fauxlivia would say, but I'll let it slide.

I do think DRJ wanted the bridge shut down. He sent alt-Broyles to it with some device to destroy it didn't he? At least this way they shut it down safely. Is it still functional should they need to reopen it?

I meant to tell you that I thought about your chess post when Walter got his brain fragments back in Letters of Transit. A pawn being restored to full Bishop status having reached the end of the board.

I really wanted Bell's hand to have 6 fingers like the glyph! Can we get Zachary Quinto for a guest spot?!

See what Quantum Entanglement does? It even made Fauxlivia a little soft. You know they had to squeeze and Oz reference in there some place.

I guess you're right about Col. Broyles. Maybe that was a remote destruction device or control device to shut it down. Walter never said it would be rendered unusable, just that it could be made to shut down if over loaded. Eyes peeled for that one!

Nice chess reference! I didn't think of that one, I like it a lot!

Zach Quinto is a busy man. Do you remember him from Heroes? He's a big star now. Come to think of it Quinto was in 24 also.

Yes, six fingers would've been great. That way Walter could have snipped off just one digit. That would have been hilarious.